Good
morning.
I
have to tell you… I am not that happy with the lack of defensive execution so
far this spring. Sure, there always is a little defensive rust in February and
March, but this is just, simply put, over the bottom.
Couple
this with the early aches and pains and it seems like it seems like typical
Mets baseball is back.
Fans
say every spring that the Mets should control the off season of their players
more and make sure they are 100% ready by the end of February. How is this
supposed to be done when you are dealing with millionaires.
It
is what it is, especially if you are dealing with 30+ year old players.
I can speak firsthand on this. I played a lot of ball, both baseball and basketball. I found that there was a time when it seemed that the player I was facing were hitting grounders harder or passing basketballs past my reaching arms.
I
first thought that they were simply getting better at their game until a
teammate told me not to worry… all people over 30 go through what I was going
through.
I
figured out that he was saying that I was slowing down which I immediately
rejected. I first thought I was just getting lazy. I then said I would bear
down and do better.
It
didn’t work. Grounders got through me between me and my shortstop. Basketballs
began to fly past me.
I
tried even harder and pulled a hammy which put me on the bench for quite a
while. It seemed like it was never going to heal. I asked my coach what I was
doing wrong and he said ‘all people your age go through this’.
See
where I am going here?
Ron Darling talked
about creating a new analytical stat (sic) that will benefit the players we
have on the field.
Darling
calls for the addition of assists that
would be given to all players that “assisted” in completing a defensive play.
What
a great idea. Create a stat that recognize the players who were successful in a
cut-off play.
What
other defense plays could be added to this?
The
signing of outfielder Carlos Gomez caused me to
think this morning.
About
six moths ago, we all were worried that there wasn’t enough outfielders, both
on the Mets 40-man, but also on the AAA board.
Now,
there seems to be more than the amount of troops in the 1st Infantry
Division that landed on Normandy on D-Day.
Right
now, we have, on the 40-man, Keon Broxton, Yoenis
Cespedes (DL), Michael Conforto, Juan Lagares,
and Brandon Nimmo. IF
Jeff McNeil has been moved there as well.
Assigned
to Syracuse are Kevin Kaczmarski, Tim Tebow, Kevin
Taylor, Rajai Davis, Gregor Blanco, Rymer Liriano, and Carlos Gomez.
Teams
usually carry five outfielders, so it seems that the Mets are done with
Broxton, Conforto, Lagares, Nimmo, and McNeil.
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| PC - Ed Delany |
I
can’t see Gomez playing at the AAA level, so my guess he has been signed to
compete with either Broxton or Lagares for the fifth Queens slot.
Syracuse
seems fluid.
I
have no idea what the motivation for Kaczmarski is at this point. He busts his ass last year and ends it hitting
.300 at the AAA level, only to watch all these .220 old guys being signed in
the off season. How does the dude get out bed every morning?
Currently,
excluding Cespedes being on the DL, there are 12 outfielders in Queens and Cuse
to fill 10 slots.
My
guess is Tebow (how hard it is going to be for Syracuse to take the PR hit)
will open up in AA, and Lagares will be DFA’d.
Your
thoughts?
Lastly...
One of the things Mets management said this week is that BB/9 stats will weigh heavy on who head to Queens when camp breaks.
Currently, here are the top pitchers with a BB/9 ration of 0.00:
Luis Avilan (4.2-IP)
Corey Oswalt (4.1-IP)
Paul Sewald (3.0-IP)
Joshua Torres (2.2-IP)
Lastly...
One of the things Mets management said this week is that BB/9 stats will weigh heavy on who head to Queens when camp breaks.
Currently, here are the top pitchers with a BB/9 ration of 0.00:
Luis Avilan (4.2-IP)
Corey Oswalt (4.1-IP)
Paul Sewald (3.0-IP)
Joshua Torres (2.2-IP)
I can't see them DFAing Lagares. He earns $9 million this year and $500K for an option next year. It would be cheaper to pay down his salary by $3.5 million or so and see if someone would bit on him at a $6 million commitment.
ReplyDeleteBroxton has not yet done much to justify his being here but I believe he's out of options. J.D. Davis will likely get the ticket north because of the injuries, but he does have options. In MetsWorld hitting .300 is the sure ticket to the minors under normal circumstances. After all, money trumps performance.
Reese -
ReplyDeleteIt will be interesting to see if Brodie can change this 'money trumps' philosophy on this team
Question partially is: would some other MLB team want Broxton or Gomez on their major league roster. If not, I would imagine either would accept the minors. Broxton spent most of his season there last year, in fact.
ReplyDeleteLagares seems to be doing good so far.
Let's see where we are at in 2 weeks with these 3 (and Rahai Davis, for that matter).
I used to jump very well - I was 5'10" and could have dunked a basketball at age 19 if I had larger hands (like Trump?), but I could not palm the ball. Who said White Men Can't Jump? I could.
I was still in very good shape at age 34 and went to play a pickup basketball game, after not having picked up a ball in a few years - and boy, did the back (which did not bother me doing day to day stuff) bark very loudly. At that exact point, I realized that being 34 was existentially different than age 19.
Later on, I still felt in very good shape, and tried just shooting around and lay ups - some say this or that is like riding a bike, you never forget - but shooting and lay ups felt like a totally foreign activity.
Avilan AND Hector Santiago have done great - the latter despite having walked some guys. Both look like great pick ups.
Tom
ReplyDeleteYou are right...the 25 man will go down to the end of ST especially because of the recent injuries to Lowrey and Frazier.
As for the pen, I think Avilan is now a lock with a struggling Familia, Diaz, and Lugo. That is 4 with 3 or 4 more slots to go.
A guy on the edge here could be Gsellman
Gsellman can't pitch poorly all spring training and expect to automatically make the 25 man this year. This isn't 2018.
ReplyDeleteOswalt could be an option there.
Oswalt makes so much more sense in the pen rather than being a mid-80s FB thrower in Cuse
ReplyDeleteBut if we want him to be the "#6 SP" , it's better to have him pile up innings at 'Cuse than to be a little - used RP in Flushing.
ReplyDeleteMeanwhile what's in store for Dowdy, who has drawn praise from both Brodie and Mickey but struggled so far? If he doesn't earn a 25-man spot for the full year he's gone.
Maybe he can be returned and traded for, then sent upstate.
Thomas-
ReplyDelete34! (Hit that in the Carter administration.
Mack-
Agree that the OF should get an A for hitting the cut-off resulting in an eventual out. Multiple assists on run-downs?
In any event I've often wondered about "chances" (PO + A + E?). I ingle goes thru an OF legs for 3B and it's an E (and a "chance"), but a successful return to the IF is no chance.
Assist me, please!
ReplyDeleteLions, Tigers, Bears and Outfielders. Oh My!
ReplyDeleteThe old addage, better to have too much than too little does seem to apply here. Personally, I was hoping that Tim Tebow stuck on the 25-man breaking camp. I just like Tim's batting mechanics and he potentially does fill a power void here. Like I always said here, he just needs more game experience because the skill set does seem there. I am hoping Tim busts it open in MiLB and gets back here by no later than June 1st or about then.
Many fans have expressed their concerns about the acquisition of older veteran type Mets players. Not me. Once MLB was out of the much discussed "steroid era" injuries afterwards do seem more apparent. It's that being human thing and drats to it. But this had to happen. None of the current injuries actually appear to be all that serious, if you look at it closely, with perhaps Yoenis Cespedes' injury being the most complicated in scope. But Yo' is steel and we all need to remember that. He played center field how long on two bad feet? But I have no doubt that once rehabbed, even Yo' will be back in later 2019, precisely when these NY Mets will probably be needing a power batter more infusion.
In summation here, the NY Mets will start a most respectable young outfield, then hopefully add to it Tim Tebow in early June and Yoenis Cespedes probably in August. I can most easily live with that. Sounds like a plan, and it should be, although nothing is ever cast in stone and more injuries are always a possibility.
I personally see these 2019 NY Mets in outstanding position to make a serious run at the gold. I think this all will work out amazingly well. So "Let's Go Mets." Win it for the 1969 NY Mets thirty years anniversary!
Wouldn't that be something?
The question regarding Broxton, Lagares, or Gomez...
ReplyDelete...For the fourth and fifth outfielders. If I had to take just two, probably one would be Carlos Gomez based solely upon history and power production. Carlos is probably the better PH as well.
I can still recall Carlos Gomez here as a rookie NY Mets outfielder. To my eyes, he was probably the fastest NY Mets player I ever saw go first to third base. But he's older now and his game has changed some. Gomez brings different skills, but his ability to play multiple outfield positions is wider than the other two players. And to me, Broxton and Lagares are probably a bit interchangeable. So whichever outfielder Brodie chooses is fine by me.
Then come early June, the Mets could be seeing Tim Tebow in the mix as well. August, maybe Cespedes. I have no worries with the Mets outfield at all.